THE SHE KING; OR, THE BOOK OF ANCIENT POETRY

142 THE BOOK OP POETRY. [PART I.
" Those men are right," they fiercely say,
" What mean your words so loud ? "
Deep in my heart my sorrows lie,
And none the cause may know.
How should they know, who never try
To leam whence comes our woe ?
2 The garden jujube, although small,
May still be used for food.
A State, though poor as ours, might thrive,
If but its rule were good.
Our rule is bad, our state is sad,
With mournful heart I grieve.
Methinks I'll wander through the land,
My misery to relieve.
Who know me not, with scornful thought,
Deem that wild views I hold. .
" Those men are right," they fiercely say,
" What mean your words so bold ? "
Deep in my heart my sorrows lie,
And none the cause may know.
How can they know, who never try
To leam whence comes our woe ?
IV.
The ClnJi 7ioo; narrative. A YOUNG SOLDIER ON SERVICE SOLACZS
HIMSELF WITH THE THOUGHT OF HOME.
1 To the top of that tree-clad hill I go,
And towards my father I gaze,
Till with my mind's eye his form I espy,
And my mind's ear hears how he says :—
" Alas for my son on service abroad !
He rests not from morning till eve.
May he careful be, and come back to me !
While he is away, how I grieve ! "
2 To the top of that barren hill I climb,
And towards my mother I gaze,
Till with my mind's eye her furm I espy,
And my mind's ear hears how she says:—
BE IX. VI.] THE BOOK OP POETRY.
" Alas for my child on service abroad !
He never in sleep shuts an eye.
May he careful be, and come back to me !
In the wild may his body not lie ! "
3 Up the lofty ridge I, toiling, ascend,
And towards my brother I gaze,
Till with my mind's eye his form I espy,
And my mind's ear hears how he says :—
" Alas ! my young brother, serving abroad,
All day with his comrades must roam.
May he careful be, and come back to me,
And die not away from his home ! "
The SJrihmow cJie ft&n ; narrative.
or WEI.
v.
143
THE STEAITS or THE PEASANTRY
In versifying this short piece, I have followed the view of Choo, who
thinks that in the 3rd line of each verse a worthy officer, disgusted with the
irregularities of the court, proposes to a companion to withdraw to a quiet
life among the mulberry trees in the country.
1 Among their ten acres of mulberry trees,
The planters move idly about at their ease.
" Ho ! back," says a courtier, " and let us join these ! "
2 Beyond their ten acres of mulberry trees,
The planters move idly about at their ease.
" Away," says a courtier, " and join us with these ! "
VI.
The Fall Van: allusive. AGAINST THE IDLE AND GREEDY MINIS
TERS or THE STATE. CONTRAST BETWEEN THEM AND A STALWAKT
WOODMAN.
1 K'an-Jc'an upon the sandal trees
The woodman's strokes resound.
Then on the bank he lays the trunks
His axe brings to the ground;
The while the stream goes rippling by,
Its waters cool and clear.
You work not so, O Wei's great men,
From me the truth now hear.